Sir
Nigel Wicks
GCB CVO CBE
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office
1985–1988
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byRobin Butler
Succeeded byAndrew Turnbull
Personal details
Born
Nigel Leonard Wicks

(1940-06-16) 16 June 1940 (age 83)
Children3
EducationBeckenham and Penge Grammar School
Alma materPortsmouth College of Technology
OccupationFinance
AwardsCBE (1979)
CVO (1989)
KCB (1992)
GCB (1999)

Sir Nigel Leonard Wicks GCB CVO CBE (born 16 June 1940) is a British financier and former senior British civil servant. He also served as Chairman of Euroclear.[1][2]

Career

Educated originally at Beckenham and Penge Grammar School, Wicks joined British Petroleum in 1958 at the age of 18.[3] Whilst at BP, Wicks studied for a University of London external MA in business administration at the Portsmouth College of Technology, now part of the University of Portsmouth.[4]

After 10 years at BP, Wicks joined HM Treasury in 1968.[1] At the Treasury, Wicks undertook a number of positions including secondments to the Prime Minister's Office as a Private Secretary to the Prime Minister (1975–1978, under Callaghan and Wilson) and at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. as Economic Minister (and so the UK's Executive Director of the IMF and IBRD) from 1983–1985.[1][3]

In 1985, Wicks took up his position as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, a post he held for three years until returning to the Treasury as Second Permanent Secretary with responsibility for International Finance, where he remained for twelve years until reaching mandatory retirement age in 2000.[1][4] After Wicks' retirement, the Treasury's International Finance command was merged into that of Macro-Economic Policy, led by Gus O'Donnell (later The Lord O'Donnell).[5]

After retirement, Wicks moved into finance; he served as Chairman of CRESTCo for a year from 2001 until it merged with Euroclear, where he was Deputy chairman 2002–2006 and since then as chairman. Wicks also served as a non-executive director of Morgan Stanley for three years from 2004, and of The Edinburgh Investment Trust since 2005.[1][4]

In public appointments, Wicks was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life from 2001–2004, as Chair of the panel appointing the initial members of the then-new Judicial Appointments Commission in 2005, and since 2007 has been Commissioner of the Jersey Financial Services Commission.[1][3]

In October 2012, Wicks was appointed chairman of the British Bankers' Association.

Personal life

As well as his MA degree from the University of London, Wicks holds an MA degree from the University of Cambridge, and honorary LLD degrees from the Universities of Bath and Portsmouth. He is married with three sons.[1][3]

Wicks was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in Prime Minister Callaghan's Resignation Honours list in 1979,[6] a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the 1989 New Year Honours,[7] and a Knight Commander (KCB) in the 1992 New Year Honours,[8] and then promoted to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 1999 New Year Honours.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g A & C Black (2012). "WICKS, Sir Nigel (Leonard)". Who's Who 2012, online edition. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Our man in Brussels faces two ways". The Independent. 19 November 1996. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Sir Nigel Wicks". Eurofi.net. Retrieved 24 April 2012.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b c "Speaker Biography – Sir Nigel Wicks". 2002. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  5. ^ HM Treasury (April 2002). "Annual Report, 2001/02" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  6. ^ "No. 55354". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1979. p. 2.
  7. ^ "No. 51578". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1988. p. 4.
  8. ^ "No. 52767". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1991. p. 3.
  9. ^ "No. 55354". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1998. p. 3.

Positions held

Diplomatic posts Preceded byUnknown Economic Minister, British Embassy in Washington, D.C. 1983–1985 Succeeded byUnknown Government offices Preceded byRobin Butler Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister 1985–1988 Succeeded byAndrew Turnbull Second Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury 1988–2000 Succeeded byGus O'Donnellas managing director, Macro-Economic Policy and International Finance Preceded byThe Lord Neill of Bladen Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life 2001–2004 Succeeded bySir Alistair Graham Business positions Preceded byScott Dobbie Chairman, CRESTCo 2001–2002 Succeeded byPierre Francotteas Chairman, Euroclear UK & Ireland New titlePosition created after merger with CRESTCo Deputy Chairman, Euroclear 2002–2005 Succeeded byJean-Jacques Verdickt Preceded byChris Tupker Chairman, Euroclear 2006–2012 Succeeded byMarc Antoine Autheman Preceded byMarcus Agius Chairman, British Bankers Association 2012– Incumbent
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